God’s Knowledge of the Future
God has perfect knowledge of real future events. It seems like it should be intuitive, at least to Catholics, right? Yet, I’ve actually had to argue this one before!
- God is perfectly simple.
- Therefore, all attributes of God are identified with God’s essence.
- To say that they are not identical is to say that God has parts.
- Therefore, all attributes of God are identical.
- This is to say that despite our use of different words, God’s justice is identical with his mercy and so forth.
- In God there is no transition from potentiality to actuality.
- This basically means that God does not change.
- Therefore, in God’s attributes there is no transition from potentiality to actuality.
- Therefore, every attribute that God has, he has in perfection.
- Therefore, in God’s knowledge, there can be no transition from potentiality to actuality.
- That is, God’s knowledge cannot change.
- If God has perfect knowledge of all real present events, then God must have perfect knowledge of all real future events.
- To say that God does not have perfect knowledge of all real future events but that after the fact of their occurrence he would have perfect knowledge of them, would be to say that God’s knowledge improves, that is, changes.
- Objection: It could be argued that God has knowledge of all real present events but that even after the fact of the occurrence of some future event he would not have knowledge of it.
- Reply: This would be to say that at some point in the future, God would not have perfect knowledge even of all real present events. This confuses the fact that the future becomes the present by means of a transition from potentiality to actuality. It would also mean that God is God only for a single instant and at no other time.
- God does have perfect knowledge of all real present events.
- Therefore, God has perfect knowledge of all real future events.
This should also be obvious because the distinctions among past, present, and future are not binding on God.